Thomas Demetrio

Thomas A. Demetrio is co-founding partner of Corboy & Demetrio and a nationally renowned trial lawyer. A proud U.S. Veteran, he served in the Army Reserve for six years. Early in his career, he acquired the first 8-figure compensatory verdict in Illinois. He has since obtained well over $2 billion in verdicts and settlements, with all verdicts paid and no lost appeals.

Ranked #1 or #2 lawyer in Illinois by Super Lawyers for 11 or more years, Demetrio received the 2022 Leading Lawyers ranking as #1 Personal Injury Plaintiff's Lawyer and #1 Aviation Accidents Plaintiff's Lawyer. He has appeared in every edition of Best Lawyers in America since 1987. Additional honors include the National Law Journal's Top 50 Litigation Trailblazers (2014), the National Trial Lawyers' 50 Most Influential Trial Lawyers (2019), and Lawdragon Hall of Fame induction (2021).

Major awards include the Leonard M. Ring Lifetime Achievement Award (2016), the Justice John Paul Stevens Award (2016), the Hellenic Bar Association Lifetime Achievement Award (2015), and the Jury Verdict Reporter Lifetime Achievement Award (2023). He is an elected Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, the American College of Trial Lawyers, and the Inner Circle of Advocates.

Demetrio served as President of the Illinois Trial Lawyers Association and the Chicago Bar Association. He founded the Thomas A. Demetrio Award of Excellence recognizing tutoring and mentoring programs. With his inspiration, the Lawyers Lend-A-Hand to Youth program was created in 1995, granting over $1.6 million to mentoring programs for underprivileged Chicago youth.

He served on the Board of Advisors of IIT-Chicago Kent College of Law (1992-2024), including as Chairman. He currently serves on the boards of the Center for Disability & Elder Law and Big Shoulders-Archdiocese of Chicago.